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Just three years into his priesthood, Father Timothy Nolan was questioning his vocation and wondering if he should leave.

When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti Aug. 14, and two days later Tropical Storm Grace slammed into the country, Haitians hadn’t fully recovered from disasters years earlier that were compounded by government instability and rising crime, friends of Haiti in the Twin Cities said.

Getting emergency supplies and aid into the Haiti region most impacted by the Aug. 14 earthquake will prove a major logistical challenge, said two missionary nuns who work in Haiti.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture's recalculation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and a major increase in the benefit for those in need "will be a meaningful improvement in the lives of millions of people who rely on SNAP for basic nutrition," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said Aug. 21.

July saw record encounters between Customs and Border Protection agents and people attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border -- 213,000 in total, said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during an Aug. 12 trip to McAllen and Brownsville in Texas.

Pope Francis encouraged new courses of action for parishes to help people understand the importance of Sunday Mass and parish ministries, a top Vatican official wrote in a message.

Hundreds of police officers and other first responders were on hand at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel the morning of Aug. 19 to pay final respects to Chicago Police Officer Ella French, who was killed in the line of duty Aug. 7.

Cardinal Raymond L. Burke remained hospitalized for COVID-19 but as of Aug. 21 he was taken off a ventilator that he had been on for some days and taken out of the ICU to be returned to a regular hospital room, according to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.